good advice for students and others

If you want to learn a lot of classical metaphysics in less than 200 pages, then read SUAREZ ON FORMAL CAUSATION.

This is the English translation of Metaphysical Disputations XV, and it’s also affordable. More and more Suárez is coming out in English all the time.

Born exceptionally late for a major Scholastic philosopher (in 1548), the Jesuit Francisco Suárez is considered one of the first authors of a metaphysical work that was not just a commentary on Aristotle. He’s clear, comprehensive, and helpful. He doesn’t miss much of importance from his predecessors, so reading Suárez is also a great way to get up to speed quickly on Aquinas, Scotus, Albertus Magnus, and even some of the Arabs.

As mentioned here before, Leibniz read Suárez from youth as though it were a novel, and you can certainly feel the metaphysical depth whenever you read Leibniz (who happens to be my favorite philosopher, much more so than Heidegger).